


the flowers on your skin

by amessagefor_you



Series: until now i felt time was moving too slowly | for svt [3]
Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Magic, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, Language of Flowers, Lee Jihoon | Woozi-centric, M/M, Metaphors for love, Minor Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Minor Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Minor Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Mutual Pining, Non-Linear Narrative, Slow Build, Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tutor Lee Jihoon, Yoon Jeonghan is a Little Shit, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:08:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amessagefor_you/pseuds/amessagefor_you
Summary: on the day mingyu barrelled into jihoon’s life with the grace of a train with no brakes, the sky cried. jihoon didn’t blame it, because he’d nearly been in tears when the boy, a year younger than him and awkward in almost every sense of the word, had tumbled into the seat across from him. “and - who are you?”
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Kim Mingyu/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Series: until now i felt time was moving too slowly | for svt [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119875
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. from alstroemeria to violets

**Author's Note:**

> so this is entirely self indulgent because I wanted to write about magical jihoon and magic mingyu. i also totally wanted to write a mingyuuzi fanfic because they are cute and pure and baby.
> 
> on that note please enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jihoon meets mingyu, a modern day hurricane of many things. jihoon just wants to get this over with.

on the day mingyu barrelled into jihoon’s life with the grace of a train with no brakes, the sky cried. jihoon didn’t blame it, because he’d nearly been in tears when the boy, a year younger than him and awkward in almost every sense of the word, had tumbled into the seat across from him. “and - who are you?” jihoon had asked, making the eyes (the only thing visible, everything else was covered in some sort of cloth) crinkle.

“mingyu. kim mingyu. soonyoung said you’d be here.” the boy had a lisp when he said soonyoung’s name, one that would fluctuate with time. but the mention of a tornado that had torn through jihoon’s life, that’s all it took for jihoon to want to cry with the skies, the mention of his old crush making him want to crumble a little. he wasn’t repulsed by soonyoung, but he did partially blame soonyoung for being as oblivious as humanly possible. he’d at one point, quite literally changed his entire high school schedule to spend time with the older boy. but that was the past, and from the looks of it, his present was in front of him. 

that also made him want to cry, and he hoped soonyoung hadn’t sent someone to waste his time. 

checking his phone, he saw no messages from the older boy on his phone, making him frown. “and why didn’t soonyoung text me?”

“he had his hand in -“

“i didn’t mean literally if that’s the explanation.”

“in a door? he got it stuck.”

“oh.” that made sense. “did he call the police?”

“i think he called wonwoo.” ah, the boyfriend. jihoon didn’t carry much bitterness towards the lanky junior, mostly because no one really could. he remembered once he’d called soonyoung crying because he was drunk and his words were flying everywhere, but wonwoo had picked up, wonwoo had found him, wonwoo had helped him when he cried he had torn his books to shreds, wonwoo had read the love poems and glued them back together with jihoon, never once asking who they were about.

“i see. so why would he send you to me?” 

that’s when mingyu shifted, jihoon sensed lightning outside, and he knows he struck a nerve of some kind. however, jihoon knows soonyoung wouldn’t send someone without great reasoning because when he did once, jihoon had given him hell for interrupting his free time. 

“well, i just need you to read essays and help me put words on a paper.” mingyu tried, but his voice sounds thinner than the paper jihoon wrote on.

“so you use me as a soundboard?” jihoon asked, raising an eyebrow. soonyoung would be mistaken if he thought jihoon would just say yes to being some lost freshman’s essay writer. but he hoped soonyoung was smarter than that, so he waited.

“no? yes, maybe. i don’t know,” mingyu looked like he wanted to say more, and jihoon just went back to sipping his coffee as he waited. he could always write it down, wish for mingyu to ask him, bring the paper to life and let it burn, but jihoon did fancy himself to be nicer than that.

so jihoon waited instead. he waited until the next charge of lightning made the air thick, a clap of thunder just hovering behind like a cat upon a mouse. eventually mingyu managed a sigh, jihoon’s eyes meeting his. it was strange to only see mingyu’s eyes, but jihoon also wasn’t one to pry. “i have dysgraphia.” the words went out of the dust mask and into jihoon’s brain, immediately flipping through files to know what exactly dysgraphia was. “i can explain it?” mingyu offered, and jihoon nodded, taking his notebook paper and getting ready to write.

“it’s a disorder where you - you’re writing without looking?”

“yes,” jihoon responded, raising an eyebrow. “did soonyoung not tell you?” jihoon’s hands stopped moving, and mingyu raised an eyebrow. or, at least, jihoon thought he did. without seeing mingyu’s face, it did make it hard. “watch.” jihoon tapped the paper where he’d written dysgraphia, and immediately the word peeled off the paper and floated in the café air, taking a second before seeming to shatter into a million pieces of hangul that rearranged to make words in the air. 

“dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing. it manifests with difficulties in spelling, poor handwriting, and trouble with thoughts on paper.” jihoon read, and mingyu’s eyes got wide. “some lasting symptoms are unfinished or omitted words in sentences, difficulty organizing thoughts on paper and with syntax structure and grammar, plus large gaps between written ideas and understanding demonstrated through speech. there is no cure but there is treatment. it can also be paired with dyslexia or adhd, but it doesn’t need to be.” 

mingyu’s eyes were at least three times the size they were in the beginning of sitting down, and his entire frame wilted. “you’re a wordsmith.”

“so soonyoung didn’t tell you.” 

“no, oh god no, i would not have intruded if i knew. i know you must be busy -“

“i’m a student at pledis too, of course i’m busy. did the offices not provide you with someone?”

“they said i should try to contact someone to help me, and i’ve been trying to just use my computer but it doesn’t really work all the time. it’s only a few weeks in, but i already have a terrible grade in creative writing. i asked seokmin if he knew anyone, and he suggested soonyoung, who suggested you. he said he’d text you.” mingyu looked almost deflated, his frame folding in a little on himself. “i just thought you were good with words? i don’t know what i was expecting.”

mingyu seemed to realise jihoon was waiting for him to stop talking in the middle of jihoon taking a sip of his coffee that was lukewarm at best. jihoon always drank hot coffee on rainy days, but he’d gotten distracted and now it was closer to the cold brew he usually got. “alright. well, one, the office of disabilities suck ass. two, what classes do you need help in?”

“it’s not really a class, it’s just when i have a writing assignment, which is a lot,” mingyu offered weakly. jihoon could tell mingyu is a lot like the sun after a storm - he was terrified to come out of this shell, especially in front of jihoon, who was probably everything mingyu wasn’t in his eyes. 

maybe jihoon shouldn’t pick mingyu apart like this, but he can just feel it like the calm before the storm. it could be years of observation, years of people slipping into his life like raindrops on leaves and sliding out just as fast. mingyu seems scattered, softly scattering himself, and jihoon doesn’t know if mingyu is just naturally all over or not. “here.” mingyu held out a paper, crinkled and typed. “you can see what happens. i understand it in my head, i can speak it. but when it comes to the words on the paper, i am hopeless.” 

jihoon noted that mingyu was wearing gloves too, making his brows furrow, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it. instead he looked at the words, willing himself not to immediately fix it with his magic. it was a proper mess, the aftermath of hurricanes in the hangul on the page. but under it, jihoon could tell that mingyu was absolutely brilliant. this was an essay on the dissection of a pig, and mingyu knew the words, he knew the vocabulary, and he knew what he was talking about. jihoon honestly never thought the dissection of a pig could be semi-attractive. then again, jihoon thought intellect was exceedingly attractive.

“alright, so,” jihoon began, biting his lip. 

“i know. it’s the worst,” mingyu sighed. 

“no, it’s not the worst.” jihoon may be kind of lying with that, it was pretty awful. but mingyu, with sparkling eyes and gloves hands, even if he had met him less than an hour ago, reminded him of a puppy. “but when are you free?”

“will you help then?” mingyu, obviously excited, nearly knocked over jihoon’s precious mug of coffee, and jihoon scowled. 

“if you knock over my coffee, no.”

“oh, okay, sorry,” mingyu offered weakly. “um, but i am free all day fridays! and saturdays after two, sundays all day, and wednesdays before five.” 

“let’s meet fridays at two then, and wednesdays at the same time. Two hours, meet here.”

“okay,” mingyu nodded. “and i need to pay you right? i actually kinda needed to ask about that, i know i can’t expect you to work for free but i am a good cook but i’m here on a scholarship-“

“buy me a cola every friday, and a coffee every wednesday. that’s it.” jihoon could already hear seungcheol in his ear squealing that jihoon, whose heart was notoriously freezing, was doing something for practically free because the tall person in front of him reminded him of puppies and rainbows. 

“really?”

“yes,” jihoon said, and mingyu nodded. “starting next wednesday, okay?”

“of course! can i have your number though?” mingyu had his phone out, and his eyes were sparkling in the nonexistent sunlight. jihoon just plugged in the numbers, mingyu left, and jihoon felt like he’d just been through the walls of a hurricane without an eye of calm.

❁ 

mingyu was waiting at jihoon’s regular table, at one forty three when jihoon walked in with a cup of cold brew coffee across from him and no drink in front of him. mingyu also had a binder of papers, mostly messy, but all drafts. “i read ahead.” mingyu said as an explanation. “most of the things i can get drafts done because i can get it into my brain.”

jihoon listened, realising the coffee is cold like usual because the sun is out, along with the fact he’d never told mingyu that. “soonyoung told me your coffee order when i told him you were taking care of me,” mingyu blurted as jihoon sipped his coffee. the mention of soonyoung doesn’t make his heart ache or his mind hurt, but jihoon wasn’t going to think about that too much. 

“thank you,” jihoon replied. mingyu was still covered, his eyes barely visible under a bucket hat, but jihoon wasn’t here to be distracted over the face he couldn’t see mingyu’s eyes. he had an admiration perhaps, but he also had the boy buy him a coffee so he was going to do his work. “which one is most relevant?”

“they’re in order from most to least,” mingyu sounded pleased, and jihoon just nodded. the words on the page were so messy, jihoon himself got lost in the black ink and lined paper. despite the obvious disconnect between mind and hand, the unfaltering intellect still shone through. it was neat too, mingyu having made a highlight key so jihoon could find mistakes easier. mingyu had the highlighters on the table too, so jihoon could choose the orange one to mark a misspelling, or the pink one to show improper syntax. 

after about twenty minutes, jihoon looked up at mingyu, who was just watching with his bright eyes. “did you bring your computer?”

“yep!” mingyu pulled his computer out, his eyes crinkling, and jihoon could only assume it was a smile hidden under his mask. jihoon had done some more reading on dysgraphia, and had discovered that more often than not, they had physical manifestations of what they couldn’t get out. for some it was clouds forming above their heads for thoughts, others would have something that would mark their skins. jihoon could only assume mingyu had one, perhaps an ugly one, that crowded his skin. why else would he cover himself? jihoon himself already had what most would call markings, a small curse that came with being a wordsmith. Should anyone write on his skin, it would burn to his bone, and it hurt. jihoon only had a few words on his bones, luckily, because he’d threatened people who had tried something with extreme violence.

“do you have problems correcting the mistakes?” jihoon asked, and mingyu nodded a yes hesitantly. 

“sometimes my brain says the right way is wrong and i just can’t correct it.” mingyu tapped his finger a few times against the table, and that was the first time jihoon noticed that mingyu was always moving. there was always something in his hands or something on his tongue that made them dance, sometimes in tandem and sometimes so off beat it could make jihoon laugh. “it’s gotten better with age, but it happens with almost every paper that i want a good grade on. i think i just get too focused, and want it to go well, so i psych myself out. stress makes it worse, and my mind does not help believe me.”

“a good mind rarely does,” jihoon hummed as he turned the paper to mingyu. “i’m finished with corrections here. you should begin to transcribe it, and if you don’t finish by the end, just send me a link. meanwhile i’ll go through these.” 

jihoon and mingyu were nearly quiet for the rest of the hour they had left, the only noises interrupting were the chimes of the café door and chatter they zoned out. jihoon would check what mingyu asked him to, and when he got stuck on a word, more often than not he would use just enough magic to decode the word. it drained him a little, as did all his little tricks with words, but he only had one class on wednesdays, and it ended at noon. 

so he was free for the rest of the day to do nothing, and doing nothing probably meant not moving from this exact chair, maybe ordering another coffee or ten, until it was closing time. seungcheol always had the closing shift, so jihoon would just wait for his roommate unless he had something else to do. it also made it easy for people who needed his help to find him. usually, lee jihoon, the best wordsmith on campus alongside a third year in their brother high school, chwe hansol, could both be found at different places at any point in the day. hansol preferred network love, a small cyber café where he set up. jihoon was almost always sipping a black coffee in some form, at smile flower. 

it was a peaceful existence. jihoon hardly actually realised the two hours were up until mingyu turned the laptop to him, his fingers forming rain patterns on the table again. “we only have ten minutes left, so can you check what i have?” 

jihoon checked his phone, frowning when he realised mingyu was right. he’d never lost track of time (time was money, and jihoon wouldn’t waste it) when it came to anything involving someone else. even seungcheol wasn’t exempt from that, or soonyoung. that in itself was terrifying. 

mingyu had felt like a hurricane, but one that jihoon knew in that moment was inevitable. he’d already bent his rules for mingyu, who he knew had sparkly eyes, dancing fingers, and a seemingly sweet personality, if not shy. 

jihoon finished reading through the typing, changing a few things then nodding in satisfaction. “it looks really good mingyu.” mingyu’s eyes immediately brightened, crinkling into slight moons. 

“i do believe that’s the first time you said my name,” mingyu giggled.

“you do believe?” jihoon’s eyebrows rose as he felt his lips turn into a tiny smile. “your speaking borderlines old fashioned at times, you know. i noticed that.”

“it’s a result of gyu being fascinated with old poetry,” a new voice said, and jihoon looked up to see a boy with sharp features and a huge smile on his face. “i’m lee seokmin, one of gyu’s roommates.” 

“nice to meet you. i’m lee jihoon.” jihoon held out his hand for a handshake, and seokmin gladly clasped it. 

“your colours are beautiful jihoon.” seokmin said earnestly, and jihoon raised an eyebrow. “auras. it’s kinda my thing.” 

“and with it comes with you not being able to read a room,” mingyu teased, making seokmin gasp dramatically as jihoon smiled. 

“so you can tell auras?” jihoon asked, and seokmin nodded. 

“only with touches though, so i don’t know your aura now. but your aura a second ago was grey, calm.” seokmin grinned. “but gyu, don’t you have class in five minutes?”

“oh shit!” mingyu scrambled to finish packing his things and sprinted out of the café. “bye jihoon!” mingyu popped back in to shout, making the entire café turn to look at jihoon. jihoon flushed pink, and seokmin laughed. 

“gyu is just like that. sorry if it embarrassed you.”

“no, just not used to it.” jihoon revealed just as someone else came in and made their way over to his table. “can i help you?”

“i have a paper,” the person began, and jihoon sighed internally. oh well, money was money. 

“do you want me to proofread the paper?”

“yes.”

“how long is it?”

“three pages.”

“that’s 33500 won a page, i take venmo, paypal, cashapp, and cash.” jihoon raised an eyebrow, and the boy nodded. seokmin was still in earshot, and jihoon saw his eyebrows draw together a little. “i can take incremental payments, but know that should you cheat me out of money you will never get help from anyone again.” 

“understood. i can pay in 10500 won increments?”

“sounds good to me,” jihoon shrugged as the boy held out his sheets of paper. “the payment includes me helping throughout the entire paper, and if you actually come back regularly, the price decreases per page. understood?”

“yep,” the boy responded. “thank you!”

“of course. come back by closing tonight.” jihoon waved goodbye, and the kid waved back. seokmin grinned, saying his goodbye too, and jihoon waved too. at last, some calm.

❁

jihoon sank into the plush beanbag, listening to jeonghan and seungcheol bicker over something (again) while joshua silently offered him popcorn to enjoy the, as he called it, “jeongcheol daily segment.” 

“i still don’t understand how you have popcorn every time.”

“it’s called planning ahead.” joshua nodded like he’d just released the answer to the universe instead of eating popcorn, but jihoon found himself smiling anyways. 

“what’re they bickering about now?”

“who would look cuter in a strawberry dress.”

“shouldn’t you, as their boyfriend, decide?”

joshua snorted, shoving more popcorn in his mouth. “heck no. they’re going to end up buying the dress, and then they’re going to parade around in it like the stubborn people they are. then i’ll get it when they’re done, and i get to do whatever i want with it. it is a win-win situation.”

“are you seriously a youth pastor?”

“that i am.” joshua grinned lazily, looking over at jihoon. “and i am a great influence.” 

“jihoon!”

“no!” jihoon retorted, making seungcheol’s face fall. “i am not settling an argument when you make my breakfast and jeonghan has no qualms about putting live bugs in my bed.”

“your breakfast is a blueberry eggo waffle and black coffee, how would i mess with it?”

“do you want the list?” jihoon fired back. seungcheol just made a whiny noise and went back to bickering with jeonghan. 

“so, where were you? usually on saturdays you hibernate until seungcheol forces you to smile flower.” 

“the kid i’m tutoring had an emergency.”

“which one?” seungcheol asked, and jihoon looked at him evenly.

“mingyu.”

“oh i know him! he went to high school with us!” 

“he did?” seungcheol and jihoon asked at the same time, and jeonghan nodded eagerly. 

“yeah, he’s hao’s friend!” 

“hao, that freshman you terrorise?” seungcheol and jeonghan dissolved back into squabbles after that, and joshua laughed at his two boyfriends. jihoon rolled his eyes, but turned back to his laptop. 

“so, mingyu?” joshua asked, and jihoon scoffed. 

“he’s just a kid.”

“he dragged you out of bed at nine in the morning.”

“so?”

“so even soonyoung never did that, even when he was drunk.”

“i got up once for soonyoung,” jihoon debated. 

“you sent cheol.” jeonghan broke off the argument with seungcheol, seungcheol already clinging to him with a soft look on his face. 

“yeah!”

“i was busy.”

“you’re just whipped beyond belief for this mingyu boy,” joshua hummed. 

“am not.” 

“did you ever do this for soonyoung?” joshua asked, genuinely curious, and seungcheol nodded that jihoon had.

“i did in high school,” jihoon sighed. “my crush on soonyoung really faded a lot by the time he started dating wonwoo. sure, i was sad when they did get together because i did still like him, but it’s been, what, nine months? i was over him by the second month they were dating.” 

“true, he was,” seungcheol hummed. “he’s just been without a crush for a while.” 

“until now!” jeonghan giggled. “now you have a crush on mingyu!” 

“i do not.” jihoon thought about how mingyu had been so apologetic, no hat on his head so jihoon could see his fluffy brown hair sticking every which way. his eyes were more tired than before, and when he sat down, he’d launched into a winded apology with a cold coffee for jihoon. Jihoon had asked him to slow, down, what was wrong, and mingyu had blurted that he’d forgotten he had a class later with an essay due, and he’d done most of it but sensed things were wrong.

jihoon had corrected them quickly, fixing the words with magic rather than a pen. it lessened the messiness overall, and it lengthened the time mingyu had to fix his essay, turn it to jihoon with pleading eyes, and jihoon finished proofreading and gave mingyu the green light. 

“thank you jihoon!” mingyu had shouted, and jihoon had waved weakly back as mingyu sprinted to print the essay. he downed a coffee, felt energy buzz just enough to get him back to the dorm, and then here he was. stuck between seungcheol and his devil boyfriends. 

“stop teasing him hannie,” seungcheol said, and surprisingly, jeonghan obeyed. there was still a shit-eating grin on his face, and jihoon could feel his own eyes rolling, but that was besides the point. 

“han, we have class,” joshua said, looking at the clock, and jeonghan cursed softly before extracting himself from seungcheol’s grip and grabbing his backpack. 

“we’ll be back later!” jeonghan chirped, lacing his hand with joshua’s and skipping out. “and cheol, i already bought the dresses for us so let’s see!” 

“you three are by far the weirdest dynamic i’ve ever seen.” jihoon hummed. seungcheol looked at him with a big smile, kicking his feet a little. “but you’re also grossly in love.”

“so, about that mingyu -“

“no.” jihoon all but glared at the junior, who laughed happily. 

“i’m just glad you have a new friend? kind of?”

“i’m just tutoring him.” 

“okay. want to grab something to eat? my treat.” 

“i want tacos.” jihoon got up off the chair as seungcheol grabbed his wallet, made sure both of them had keys to the dorm and their phones. jihoon went without his computer, knowing seungcheol would probably have scolded him for the entire hour. 

“the one on campus okay?”

“yeah, of course. they make good tacos.” jihoon shrugged, and seungcheol nodded. it was a short walk, but it was a quiet one with the sunlight dancing over the lake they had on campus. luckily their campus was out of the city by almost an hour by train, so they could have a lake and hiking trails. not that jihoon ever utilised them.

when they got there, they slid into a booth of colours so bright jihoon thought for sure he was going to go blind. seungcheol had menus from the table, and it was a few minutes before a cheerful voice broke through their silence. “hi - oh jihoon!”

“hey seokmin,” jihoon replied, and seungcheol gasped dramatically. 

“jihoon! you have friends?”

“he’s mingyu’s friend.” 

“and thus, i am jihoon’s friend!”

“what -“

“that’s amazing! i’m seungcheol!” 

“actually, mingyu’s shift starts soon so i’ll give him you two as a table?” seokmin chirped, and jihoon spluttered. 

“no -“

“oh that sounds great! jihoon talks about mingyu a lot -“ 

“no i don’t -“

“and today when -“

“choi seungcheol i will tell jeonghan and joshua about the time you forgot you had boyfriends two days into dating and started crying because you’d never have them. you weren’t even drunk.”

“okay okay jeez!” seungcheol muttered. they hadn’t even noticed seokmin had left, only realising when a cola and a water were placed in front of them.

“hello,” a voice chirped, and jihoon slammed his head into the table as seungcheol lit up. “my name is mingyu, and seokmin said he’d like me to take care of you today.”

“you’re mingyu?” seungcheol sounded like a kid in a candy store, and jihoon heard mingyu chuckle nervously. 

“yes?”

“sorry about him,” jihoon muttered, and mingyu’s posture immediately straightened. 

“jihoon! i am so sorry i woke you up this morning, at least, i think i did, and i want you to know i think i got an a, and if i can pay you for the extra time -“ 

“it’s fine,” jihoon said, and could feel a blush staining his ears as seungcheol gave him a knowing look. 

“wait, what does he charge you?” seungcheol asked, and mingyu blinked a little, jihoon looking at how pretty his eyelashes were as they brushed against the top ridge of his mask. 

“a coffee on wednesdays and a cola on fridays.” 

“are you ser-“

“can we have chips and queso?” jihoon interrupted, glaring at seungcheol, who shut up for a second. 

“yeah of course!” mingyu chirped. “let me go grab them for you!”

as soon as mingyu was out of earshot, seungcheol looked at jihoon with eyes wide with surprise. “that’s all you’re charging him? seriously? that’s hardly even a fraction combined of one page!”

“i don’t have people pay that much.”

“you are so whipped.”

“i am not whipped for ki- thank you mingyu.” 

“of course! do you need some more time to look over the menu?”

“considering jihoon always eats off the kid’s menu -“

“seungcheol i am going to castrate you.” mingyu giggled a little, and jihoon ignored how it made his body feel lighter. he’d literally met mingyu a month ago now, a crush wasn’t even in his thought process with mingyu. he was adorable, but jihoon didn’t think it was possible to like someone in a month (never mind he’d been whipped since day one, but he would never admit it). “i’ll take two birria tacos all the way, a cecina taco all the way, and two lengua tacos all the way. plus a horchata, and a side of elotes. cheol is paying, so i can’t be fickle.”

“wow. i’ll have the carne adobada meal please.” 

“alright!” mingyu nodded, and jihoon noted he didn’t have a notebook in his hands. seeming to notice, mingyu’s eyes crinkled as he looked at jihoon. “i memorise it. i don’t want you to get the wrong order because of my handwriting.” 

seungcheol made some sort of cooing noise that sounded like he was being strangled, but jihoon couldn’t move his gaze from the stars in mingyu’s eyes. mingyu moved his gaze first, coughing a little, and jihoon felt embarrassment overcome his body. 

“oh my gosh you were just bold bold jihoon.” 

“i - i was not,” jihoon muttered. 

“your eyes were glittering.”

“his eyes were what?” a new voice said as someone plopped next to jihoon, and jihoon sighed. 

“glittering,” seungcheol repeated. “hey soonyoung.”

“hey,” soonyoung chirped, and jihoon looked over at him. “we haven’t hung out in forever!”

“we hung out last week in the karaoke bar with seungkwan,” jihoon pointed out, rolling his eyes. but, even as soonyoung’s legs clumsily knocked into jihoon’s and he stole a sip of jihoon’s cola, jihoon didn’t feel a tornado tear through him. usually one did, a nostalgic one of stray winds and could have beens when soonyoung had brushed against him two months ago he felt tornados ripple through his body. but now he felt nothing. 

shrugging it off, jihoon thanked mingyu who brought his horchata with a tiny smile. soonyoung beamed at him too, and mingyu’s eyes flickered between soonyoung and jihoon. “anything i can get you?” 

“um,” soonyoung began just as wonwoo came over to their table, sliding next to seungcheol. “woo! what do you want?”

“i’ll have the sopa de poro y papa.” wonwoo smiled at mingyu, who nodded. soonyoung’s fingers laced with wonwoo’s casually over the table, and jihoon saw mingyu’s eyes flicker with something else. 

“i want enchiladas!” soonyoung chirped happily. mingyu nodded, his eyes looking serious. jihoon was confused, but a few minutes later seokmin dragged a chair up to their table with a huge smile. 

“i’m off now, mind if i sit here?” 

“go ahead!” soonyoung chirped. “i’m soonyoung! this is my boyfriend, wonwoo.” mingyu came over just as soonyoung finished introducing wonwoo as his boyfriend, and seokmin held his arms out for a hug.

“ah, are you a hugger?” seokmin asked, and soonyoung laughed. 

“i am a clinger.” he managed around chips and queso as wonwoo nodded in agreement. jihoon was distracted from the conversation as he watched mingyu walk away, mingyu effectively bumping into a chair that was sticking out and almost biting it. 

seungcheol followed his gaze, kicking him under the table hard, making jihoon glare at his best friend. seungcheol just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, jihoon rolling his eyes as soonyoung and seokmin got into an impassioned conversation about the superiority of every shinee comeback. 

by the time the food arrived, seokmin and soonyoung were practically finishing each other’s sentences, and jihoon had realised something that made his breath stall.

soonyoung, in his mind, had always been a tornado.

mingyu, however, was akin to a hurricane for jihoon.

and everyone knew hurricanes would spread further, cause more damage, level the earth and crash the sky so much quicker than any tornado.


	2. from violets to roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jihoon learns that he doesn’t really hate the hurricane.

over the first three months with mingyu, the two of them fell into a pattern that rarely shifted. mingyu would always (somehow) be earlier than jihoon to smile flower. he would have the drink ready, coffee on wednesdays and cola on fridays. jihoon would get the binder, the highlighters, and his usual seat. mingyu would sit across from him with gloved hands, skin covered except for the slit that allowed his eyes to peer at jihoon. he’d pull out a laptop, work on his other written works, while jihoon fixed his rough drafts.

then mingyu would ask jihoon to check his work. on wednesdays, mingyu would leave alone, and on fridays seokmin would pick him up. jihoon usually had other student’s papers to do on those days, so he’d hibernate in the café until he was needed. by hibernate, he did his homework, worked on random mixes for his musical composition major classes, and just played with words.

one time, he wrote down kim mingyu out of curiosity. words liked to tell the truth, and when jihoon had enchanted the name, it hadn’t been any different. 

kim mingyu, freshman at pledis u. major in culinary arts, major in accounting, minor in entrepreneurial management. went to seventeen high school, fast pace middle school, and pinwheel elementary school. schedule is -

jihoon didn’t really learn too much from that besides the fact mingyu was really on a full scholarship, and the work he did was to supplement his scholarship and send the extra back to his family. purely selfless, if one were to ask jihoon. he was glad he’d chosen not to charge mingyu, though he had remembered mingyu mentioned once that he was a good cook. that made sense with a major in culinary arts, though.

it was a routine, and jihoon loved routine.

the first flakes of snow were starting to spiral down when mingyu came in on a sunday, and jihoon raised an eyebrow as mingyu sat across from him. “we don’t have a session today.”

“n-no, we don’t.” mingyu managed, shivering a little. “i just wanted to get to know you better.”

“as a person? i promise you, there’s nothing intriguing about me.”

“no i’m sorry, as a fish.” mingyu’s tone was flat, but jihoon could sense the sarcasm. “of course as a person.” his tone lifted a little, and jihoon chuckled. 

“would you like something to drink? i have to get another coffee.” 

“you’re letting me stay?”

“i don’t have anyone to tutor,” jihoon shrugged. “do you want anything?”

“um, something warm and sweet that i can drink with a straw. i don’t want to remove my mask.” 

“warm, sweet, straw. got it.” jihoon smiled at mingyu before he made his way up to the counter, his friend junhui already making his coffee. 

“anything for your tall dark and presumably handsome friend?” junhui asked, and jihoon shrugged. 

“something warm, sweet, and with a straw.” 

“does he want it to have caffeine or not?”

“um,” jihoon said eloquently before pulling out his phone and calling mingyu - who was honestly close enough that jihoon could take six exceedingly large steps and be at the table again. 

mingyu still picked up though, looking at jihoon with a smile in his eyes. “jihoon you’re right there. you could have walked back to ask me whatever you must ask me.”

“i’m lazy.”

“understatement of the century,” junhui muttered, and jihoon sent him a withering glare.

“do you want your drink caffeinated or not?”

“caffeinated please,” mingyu said politely before hanging up, jihoon turning back to junhui. 

“caffeinated.” 

“yeah i could hear him he’s nearly in spitting distance,” junhui laughed. “i’ll bring it over to you and steal the cash then.”

jihoon nodded, going back over to mingyu and sitting across from him. he didn’t feel like sitting properly, so he crossed his legs on the chair instead as mingyu watched with twinkling eyes. “you could have just walked back and asked jihoon.”

“i’m really lazy.” is jihoon’s excuse, and it only takes a minute longer for junhui to bring out the drinks - jihoon’s black coffee and something that looks like an accident with the amount of whipped cream and chocolate syrup on it. it was warm and had a straw, so jihoon couldn’t scold junhui, who took the bills on the table and kept the change for jihoon’s next cup. 

mingyu took a sip, shifting his mask so the straw tucked under it, and jihoon chuckled. “what?” mingyu asked, sounding like he was expecting the question of why he didn’t take off his mask.

“you could get a mask with a straw hole instead of it awkwardly rubbing on your chin,” jihoon smiled. “i know a certain wordsmith’s boyfriend who loves to sew.”

“you?” mingyu asked, and jihoon almost spat his coffee on his computer. 

“what - no. hansol, he’s a third year in high school and has probably the loudest but smartest boyfriend ever. he’s the same age as hansol but is a freshman here.”

“but - aren’t you dating that soonyoung boy?” jihoon frowned, looking at mingyu, before the pieces clicked and he burst into laughter. “what?” jihoon started choking at that moment, trying to talk, swallow, breathe, and laugh in one moment. mingyu, his eyes laced with concern, got up and made sure jihoon could at least breathe.

that was the first time mingyu had touched jihoon besides just brushes on the hand when passing notes and laptops. jihoon could feel his breath stall again as he realised the gloves were thin, and he could feel mingyu’s body heat through them. the simple act of mingyu rightening jihoon to let more air into his lungs effectively did the exact opposite of mingyu’s intentions. 

“don’t die,” junhui said in passing as he flitted over to see another customer. jihoon glared at him as he waved off mingyu, finally getting a good breath into his lungs. 

“what in the world possessed you to think me and soonyoung were dating?”

“you two seem close when you hang out.” mingyu sounded sheepish, and jihoon couldn’t help but chuckle again. 

“he has a whole boyfriend. jeon wonwoo, student council secretary?” 

“oh, seriously?”

“i guess you haven’t heard of their infamous summer fight. they were both stubborn and pigheaded over something too stupid to be named -“

“what was it?”

“soonyoung adopted a tiger. brought it on campus.”

“i’m sorry what?” mingyu looked like he was going to collapse into laughter when Jihoon nodded yes. 

“and wonwoo was not having it. they got over it though, they’ve been dating for over a year now, and they’re perfect for each other. soonyoung is a pain in my ass, and wonwoo is everything but that.”

“are you dating someone though?”

“no,” jihoon shrugged. “i haven’t seen a purpose if it’s not the right person.”

“makes sense.”

“and you?”

“ah yes, i draw in all the chicks, dicks, and nonbinary folks when none of them see my face,” mingyu drawled. 

“i’m pretty sure your eyes are more than enough to draw them in.” 

silence came crashing down like hail as both of them processed what had just come out of jihoon’s mouth, jihoon’s face going white as mingyu’s seemed to colour. “t-thanks,” mingyu managed, and jihoon just nodded. he was a wordsmith for heaven’s sake, he was supposed to be good with words. 

“i really mean it.” what was jihoon doing. what was his mind doing why was he talking, why were words coming out of his mouth. he didn’t think this was a good idea, but his mind didn’t listen. “even not knowing your face, i think you’re one of the most ethereal people i’ve had cross my path.”

the air was supercharged with something that jihoon couldn’t put his finger on, but it wasn’t entirely awkward. however, as the words mulled over in his head, he felt a blotchy flush crawling up his neck and reaching his cheeks in no time. 

mingyu was quiet too, and jihoon honestly did not want to look at him in that moment. “i um, i should get to the universe factory.” jihoon blurted like mingyu would know exactly what that was, and mingyu just nodded. 

“thanks for the coffee jihoon,” mingyu said, looking up at jihoon as he walked past. jihoon smiled at him before absolutely bolting out of the café and to the studio.

he probably should stay there to let his thoughts air out.

❁

“you’ve been here for seventy hours.” was seungcheol’s way of greeting to jihoon when the door to the universe factory finally opened. jihoon knew, and he also knew he hadn’t pulled something like this since summer, when he worked as a soundcloud producer. he had found a catchy tune, grabbed hansol who was a lyrical genius, and churned out a song that had gone absolutely crazily viral on social media. 

he’d been on a “break” per say, having to compose anyways for class and not really having the time he wanted to make more songs to his quality. but now, with every single determination to keep his mind off of the fact he had embarrassed himself in front of a boy he may possibly have a crush on but was too stubborn to admit it. 

yeah, the only logical decision was to lock himself in his studio. 

“have you even eaten?”

“i had chips.”

“that’s it?” seungcheol sounded worried, and probably rightfully so, because jihoon didn’t have a water station here so his body was buzzing with the sheer amount of canned black coffee and cola in his system. he had one bag of chips that were most certainly stale, but other than that he hadn’t eaten. he hadn’t even had the energy to check his phone, which had been cathartic but he also knew, seeing that seungcheol had the offending (and most certainly dead item) in his hand that it was not the best course of action.

“okay first we’re going to shower you, second we’re going to eat, and third you’re going to tell me what made high school jihoon return.” 

“high school jihoon wasn’t bad.”

“high school jihoon once locked himself in the universe factory for eight days. your parents thought you died because there was a fire in the laboratory and they found a body.”

“don’t i have a gravestone now?”

“you do.” seungcheol affirmed as he tried to haul jihoon through the door. even though jihoon was short, he was still built and had, on more than one occasion, beat seungcheol at sparring. “now get the fuck up.”

“i don’t want to.”

“you need to shower. your hair is a grease slick and you smell like you died and came back.” 

“you flatter me.” jihoon didn’t want to move, so he dug in his heels as seungcheol pulled out his own phone and began to dial a number. 

“hello? yeah, get to the universe factory.” seungcheol said after the phone rang a few times, and jihoon heard an all too familiar “okay!”

“oh hell no.”

“if you won’t move for me you’ll move because jeonghan’s annoying ass will make you and joshua plus me can move you.” seungcheol said stubbornly. “plus i think wonwoo and soonyoung were with them so -“

“oh lord.” jihoon was only human, and the combination of soonyoung and jeonghan without as many buffers as usual meant jihoon would want to probably throw himself off a building and fast. “let’s go. lock the door.” 

“okay,” seungcheol hummed as jihoon grabbed everything to shove it into his backpack. then jihoon locked the door and they went to their dorm room, jihoon taking a shower and changing into sweats and a giant sweater. then seungcheol practically dragged him from the dorm to a fried chicken place that was tucked right next to network love. 

seungcheol practically slammed jihoon into the booth, waiting for a waiter to come by so seungcheol could order the whole menu before chewing jihoon out. 

when jihoon tried to order a cola, seungcheol sent him a withering glare even jihoon was kind of terrified of, so he changed the order to a water (very weakly in hopes he’d still bring around a cola) as seungcheol ordered most of the menu. 

when the order was in, seungcheol looked at jihoon evenly. his fingers began to tap on the table, but jihoon couldn’t help comparing them to mingyu’s little taps and found mingyu’s were like little drizzles while seungcheol’s sounded like thunderstorms. “what happened.”

“i may have a crush.” 

“not news.”

“i called him ethereal. in a really flowery way.”

“did you ever -“

“no. never with soonyoung, not even with hansol when i had a random crush on him in elementary school.” 

“you had a crush on hansol?”

“not even for more than ten months but yes. mingyu’s eyes sparkled, and i called him ethereal. i have known him for three months seungcheol, three damn months and i forgot how to speak with him.”

“yeah, your defenses just sort of vanished with him.” the first of many plates of food landed on their table with plates, jihoon taking some of it. 

when he put the food into his mouth, he realised how hungry he’d actually been. quickly eating the rest of the rice cakes, jihoon sighed with happiness before remembering the topic. “they did, and it’s scary. i don’t know, i don’t want to say it’s a full blown crush because you know i take time for crushes, and now my mind is all fuzzy. i don’t even fully know if i like him or if i might just be lonely.”

the words felt like lead on jihoon’s tongue as his heart screamed that wasn’t the case, but his brain’s whispers had always been so much louder than his heart’s screams. 

“you know, you don’t have to approach this as you messed up and ruined a friendship. i really don’t think you did. but you can just say you meant it as friends. lame, but i’m sure he’d understand. explain it vaguely, help him through midterms, and give yourself the break to think it over.” 

“that sounds mean, and i don’t want to hurt him.”

“you would hurt him more by rushing in with unknown feelings. even if you’re almost certain you have a crush on mingyu, you're not sure. i don’t want you to rush and use mingyu as a rebound or something. from what i’ve seen he’s a good kid, and you’re a good person. don’t hurt him by accident. just explain to him you were tired, or that you didn’t quite realise what came out of your mouth. hurting mingyu and yourself, that’s worse than anything.”

suddenly the door was pretty much blown in by soonyoung screaming “hurricane,” while he dragged the rest of jihoon’s friends behind him. 

“you said you were going to be at the universe factory!” jeonghan whined as they smashed themselves into the booth (it was meant to hold four people and there were currently four more people cramming into the booth). 

“what’s going on?”

“helping jihoon with his life.” seungcheol hummed. jihoon felt the world spinning a little, smashing into the wall as wonwoo was pressed against him as soonyoung smashed them together. 

“are you okay?” wonwoo asked, his voice quiet, and jihoon felt his head nodding like a bobblehead’s. “just to let you know, if you need anything, you can talk to me.” 

“thanks,” jihoon muttered as wonwoo was practically smashed into jihoon’s lap. “fucking hell soonyoung move your ass!”

“did i hear ass?” a lazier voice said, and jihoon could scream.

“no no no -“

“move!” chan chirped as he dove into the booth on top of his favourite friend, soonyoung, and the couple of hansol and seungkwan, seungkwan’s permanent beanie on his head, somehow fit too as wonwoo practically ended up on top of jihoon, and jihoon could see seungcheol being pulled onto jeonghan’s lap. 

“i hate you all.”

“we love you too jihoon!” joshua chimed just as the food arrived.

❁

the routine didn’t change much leading up to midterms, but more often than not now, mingyu was at the table when jihoon arrived. sometimes seokmin was there, or another freshman that was sort of struggling with written korean. jihoon helped him too, because he wasn’t one to turn someone away. but he still charged him slightly, and now he got double the coffee plus change. it really was winning.

mingyu also had started to have a drink, and sometimes jihoon caught sight of a tan complexion and a ridiculously sharp chin when mingyu lifted his mask a little. not that he was looking.

he was totally looking. 

jihoon had talked to him, because seungcheol did offer good advice once every three blue moons, and told him that he hoped his words weren’t taken too much out of context. he had meant it, is what he told mingyu, and mingyu’s eyes had crinkled. “i knew you did,” is what mingyu said. “i just don’t know how to take compliments.”

and that was that. they slipped back into routine, and jihoon learned a little more about mingyu every time he sat down across from him. like one, mingyu came from an absolutely huge family. they were his lock screen, and he had his mom, dad, three sisters and four brothers surrounding him.

“you could make a kpop band with them,” jihoon had pointed out mildly, and mingyu had laughed. 

“three of them are actually idols.” and looking at the picture again, jihoon immediately could have smacked himself because there was kim taehyung, kim chanmi, and kim yerim. 

second was that mingyu liked spicy, and he liked sweet. he would probably eat a whole tube of gochujang if presented the chance, but he would want bubblegum at the end. jihoon only found this out when seokmin added a few heaping tablespoons of chilli pepper to mingyu’s sickeningly sweet drink and he drank it even though jihoon could smell the pepper from his seat. he even said it was good, making jihoon confused until mingyu had revealed he just really liked the combination.

mingyu liked the colour red, he liked sunsets, he liked photographs taken on disposable film that had to be developed in a dark room. he was an exceedingly neat person, used to play the bass guitar, and could rap. mingyu’s name itself meant bright jade in the chinese translation, which mingyu somehow knew but didn’t know the korean meaning. 

that had led to mingyu asking what jihoon meant, and jihoon had smiled, writing out his name and tapping it. “ji means wisdom and intellect, and hoon means will, purpose, and ambition.” mingyu had read aloud slowly as the words floated in the air. “that really suits you.” his brute honesty left a warm ray of sunshine spreading through jihoon’s chest, mingyu writing his own name and asking jihoon to enchant it.

when he did, the meanings of mingyu’s name in korean popped up in the air - min meaning gentle, affable, or stone resembling jade, and gyu meaning stride of man. 

“i think it suits you too.” jihoon had smiled lazily, and mingyu’s eyes turned into little half moons. 

“thank you.” 

they were just studying now, mingyu’s eyes closing a little as he began to doze off at the table. jihoon was used to staying up ungodly hours, but he could assume mingyu wasn’t. mingyu was also exceedingly smart, and didn’t truly need to cram study. he knew more than enough of the material, but when jihoon had told him that, mingyu had chuckled almost shyly.

“i am a very nervous studier. i like to learn or reaffirm knowledge when i’m nervous. that’s weird -“

“not really. it keeps your mind busy right?” jihoon had noticed with the more caffeine mingyu drank, the less his fingers tapped.

jihoon couldn’t say he liked the difference, because the rest of mingyu became more subdued too. the answer to that question was no different, but it seemed more cautious. “yeah, yeah it does. i’m half convinced that even though english isn’t my minor, i may be fluent by the end of the school year with how much english i’ve started to listen to.” 

but now, as mingyu came dangerously close to letting his head slam into his coffee cup for the seventeenth time, jihoon decided the younger boy should probably be headed to his dorm for rest. “mingyu.”

“i am not sleepy.” mingyu managed around a yawn, making jihoon give him a deadpan look.

“you almost slammed your head into your cappuccino - again.” mingyu blinked blearily at the offending cup like he didn’t know what it was, then looked at jihoon. 

“okay, maybe i am a little sleepy.” 

“can you get to your dorm safely?” mingyu blinked slowly like a lost puppy, and jihoon didn’t even let him answer before he was already packing up his studying supplies. “i’ll walk you.”

mingyu was like a giant labrador hanging off of jihoon, and not for the first time, jihoon absolutely cursed his height difference with mingyu. he’d noticed it, sure, but when he was trying to drag all one hundred and eighty seven centimetres it was very glaringly obvious. 

somehow, jihoon pried the information of which dorm and what floor, taking the elevator and scanning mingyu’s student id to get them onto the floor. when they got to the correct dorm, jihoon used the key to unlock the little apartment, taking in the bunk beds and a single bed, two desks, kitchen, and bathroom. it was surprisingly neat, but it was also mingyu so he wasn’t all surprised, and he deposited mingyu on the single bed without much fanfare, except for removing his backpack and shoes.

mingyu’s eyes looked peaceful, the tops of his lashes resting against the mask. He was wearing a beanie, and jihoon wasn’t going to remove it, because mingyu wanted to be covered. but jihoon could admire how graceful his fingers looked in gloves, and how pretty mingyu just seemed to be. someone had obviously snuck a modern-day adonis out of heaven and hoped no one had noticed, if mingyu’s build and eyes were anything to go off of.

it was only a few minutes before seokmin burst in, and gasped. “is he dead?”

“no, just tired. are you his roommate?”

“yep!” seokmin chirped happily, and jihoon just nodded. “so is hao, he joins us sometimes. but he’s in class right now.”

“cool. i’ll head out now.”

“do you want to stay for anything? i can brew tea!” seokmin looked excited, and jihoon would if he could, but he had a pain in the ass midterm to work in. studio development, which had him take every song he’d ever made and transform them into one cohesive song under five minutes. jihoon had been struggling, and silently he cursed out his professor.

“sorry seokmin, i have to finish my studio development midterm, it’s an ass. don’t take the class. i’ll catch you later though, and take you up on that tea.” jihoon waved goodbye, closing the door respectfully behind him. 

later, he realised mingyu was lucky that jihoon wasn’t some weird creep who was determined to find out what was under the mask. jihoon tsked, missing a beat on the song, making him groan.

mingyu should really be more careful where he fell asleep.

❁

“i passed!” was what sliced through jihoon’s music as mingyu slammed himself into jihoon. jihoon, who wasn’t expecting really anything as he walked towards his dorm, had no time to react and went straight into the ground. his headphones were ripped out, but his body didn’t make impact with the pavement or the snow like he’d expected. 

he was cushioned, however, by a warm body that had caught him. “sorry, sorry, i didn’t see the headphones otherwise i wouldn’t have done that,” mingyu said from under jihoon. 

“what even made you think it was a good idea in the first place?” jihoon asked, only slightly grumpy fact his music had been interrupted. however, mingyu’s eyes were so happy that jihoon could feel the anger drain from his very being and instead reached out to pat mingyu’s head. “i’m proud of you though.”

“there you are, why did you run - oh.” seungkwan gasped out, seeing the two of them and immediately wiggling his eyebrows. “i didn’t know you were into exhibitionism.”

“what?” jihoon spluttered before realising that this was a very compromising position him and mingyu were in, and that it was in the middle of campus. 

jihoon scrambled off mingyu as seungkwan burst into laughter, nearly doubled over at the blush obviously on jihoon’s face. “you didn’t deny it!”

“so what if i am?” mingyu asked, and jihoon choked on air. even though mingyu’s teasing lilt was there, jihoon’s mind flashed to having actually kissed mingyu then and there - okay no. nope. jihoon wasn’t going to imagine how mingyu looked, he didn’t know (he wanted to know) so he couldn’t imagine it right?

“don’t drag jihoon into your fucking in the lake fantasies,” seungkwan frowned. “besides you’d get an infection doing it.”

“i have literally never thought of that. stop projecting your fantasies onto me,” mingyu got up, dusting himself off. “anyways, jihoon, do you have more exams?”

“one tomorrow morning.” jihoon noticed how tired mingyu looked, his eyes a little more sunken and the skin he could see paler than usual. jihoon knew he didn’t look much better, but he was used to looking like a truck steamrolled him hourly. “Are you going home for the holidays?”

“i think seokjin and kibum will drive here and hold me at gunpoint if i don’t,” mingyu muttered. 

“i am!” seungkwan smiled. “me and hansol are splitting break between our houses so we can finally meet the families officially!”

“you two are so cute it’s sickening,” jihoon muttered.

“and you?” mingyu asked, and jihoon shrugged. 

“i have some projects that need to get done, so i won’t go home.” his mom said she would come visit on campus anyways for christmas when he’d explained to her why he was staying, and she’d also arranged to bring presents for the person he was staying behind for.

“ooh is jihoon writing love songs?” of course seungkwan’s mind went there.

“actually, junhui wanted to make a present for his parents with a song. so that’s what i’m doing.” jihoon shrugged, and seungkwan’s face got soft. 

“aw.”

“that’s nice of you,” mingyu said, and jihoon shrugged, trying not to blush at the honesty in mingyu’s tone. “you know, my roommate myungho is staying too, to work on an art piece for an exhibit. maybe he would like to hang out with the two of you?”

“maybe,” jihoon said, shrugging. “you can give him my number.” 

“awesome!” mingyu chirped. “you’ve met him, he’s the chinese student who studied with us.”

“oh yeah, he’s nice.” seungkwan was watching with a smirk that jihoon was tempted to punch out of him, but then he would have to deal with an angry hansol and no one wanted an angry hansol. “i have to study a little more for my exam tomorrow. see you.” jihoon began to walk off, mingyu and seungkwan talking about something quietly.

“wait!” mingyu suddenly yelped, and jihoon looked back, puzzled as mingyu bounded after him. “um, okay. i feel really bad about taking up so much of your time and not properly paying you, because i know you charge more -“

“it’s okay,” jihoon said, cutting mingyu off, and he saw mingyu wilt a little. “i do it because i like you.”

shit.

“yeah, you’re a good friend,” mingyu said, and jihoon just nodded yes. okay, well, that was a rejection - if mingyu even realised it was a confession. nothing jihoon couldn’t handle. “but i was wondering if you wanted me to cook dinner for you sometime? i make decent food, at least better than cafeteria food, and it’s a good way of thanks.”

“sure,” jihoon managed, smiling. “text me the details, okay?”

“gotcha!” mingyu walked back to seungkwan then, and jihoon practically bolted to his dorm, slamming open the door he knew would be open and sinking into the beanbag chair.

“what happened -“

“i fucked up again.”

❁

“now, how are you feeling?” jeonghan asked in an almost sickeningly sweet voice, and jihoon gave him the deadest expression he could.

“just because you took one psychology class does not make you a therapist.”

“excuse you, i take my one semester of psych very seriously.”

“jeonghan, you almost failed the class.” soonyoung pointed out from where he was flopped on seungcheol’s bed, eating cheese puffs. not that jihoon could see him, because jeonghan had turned off the lights for “anonymity.”

why the hell those two in his room and not someone sensible, like joshua. 

“anyways, jihoon, tell your love doctor jeonghan and nurse soonyoung -“

“why am i the nurse?” 

“because you took fucking philosophical thought instead of psychology or sociology.” 

“he took it because wonwoo was in it,” jihoon chimed, and jeonghan gasped dramatically. 

“why do none of you tell me about your love lives!”

“because you do this.” jihoon and soonyoung said together.

“i hate you both. anyways, first question! does mingyu even swing that way?”

“we haven’t explicitly talked about it, so i have no idea. soonyoung turn off the lamp.” soonyoung had crawled over to turn on seungcheol’s reading lamp just to shine it in the person talking’s face. 

“no.”

“next question! has he flirted with you?”

“i have no idea. i haven’t been flirted with.”

“we need another witness then.” jeonghan mused before pulling out his phone to dial a number. almost immediately a sunshine voice came through.

“hi jeonghan!” seokmin chirped happily. “what’s up?”

“how mingyu flirt?”

“he doesn’t really flirt, but it would be by offering to cook for them probably. why? did he finally ask out jihoon because -“

“what.” jihoon said, and seokmin let out the ugliest noise.

“am i on speaker?” he practically screamed, and jeonghan almost laughed as soonyoung’s mouth dropped. “jeonghan!”

“wait what did you say?” jihoon asked, grabbing the phone as seokmin - was seokmin beatboxing into the phone? “lee seokmin.”

“i can’t hear you!” seokmin screamed into the phone. jihoon had heard exactly what seokmin had said, but he needed to hear it again.

“well i mean, mingyu totally friendzoned me today so -“

“he did what?” 

“no!”

“the fuck?” the three very different responses made jihoon feel a little better about himself. 

“okay jihoon you hang tight,” seokmin said. “i’m going to find mingyu and figure this out.”

seokmin hung up at that, and jihoon frowned a little as jeonghan opened his mouth. he was pretty sure it was reflex at this point to do that when jeonghan was around.

“i guess mingyu isn’t straight.”

❁

break was a blur of recording and extra classes, along with one legendary paint fight that had jihoon, junhui, and minghao cleaning art room 3117 for the better part of a week. jun and hao had also met his mom, and junhui had looked at him with the gaze how in the world did you come from her? 

jihoon did get that a lot. his mother was vibrant, always had been, and was the absolute life of the party in her college years. now she was a social worker with a son from high school that she was first to say she would never give up. she had literally shown up with presents for anyone jihoon had mentioned to her, and that included a shit ton of food for junhui and minghao. 

“i know it’s not like what you get at home,” she’d started off, unpacking about eighty tupperware containers on the table in the common room on christmas day. “but i’m not hopeless in the kitchen.”

they still had leftovers, and jihoon had a pile of presents to distribute over the time where he saw his friends. 

even with all that though, it hadn’t been enough to take jihoon’s mind off what seokmin said. as jihoon traced his thoughts like one does with the weather, he could pinpoint when he realised he had a crush on mingyu. he could realise when he’d let go of the familiarity of the last wind of a tornado, then when he practically gave himself up to a hurricane. he knew what hour it would have to be to have mingyu’s eyes change from chocolate to caramel, and how many coffees mingyu could drink until his fingers stopped their dance.

he knew mingyu’s common syntax errors, the lisp on his tongue, how his eyelids would flutter when he thought too hard. 

maybe jihoon was insane, wanting to know more about the hurricane that was mingyu, like what colour he liked his toast, or the specific way he did his hair when he wanted to impress someone.

“you’re just crushing,” wonwoo said, and jihoon finally looked at the actual psychology student sitting on the couch in the universe factory. “honestly, you are. and i’m glad you needed my help, this makes a great project reference.”

“you’re forgetting i am not a criminal like you specialise in.”

“i can find something to use this lovely therapy session for.” wonwoo hummed, and jihoon finally saw the teasing gleam in wonwoo’s eyes. “anyways, did seokmin get back to you?”

“he said mingyu was so determined to ask you for him to make dinner, he blocked out anything i said and now he wants to know what i said.”

“and did you think about it jihoon?” wonwoo was watching jihoon closely, almost like a cat watching a mouse. 

“i did.”

“and?”

“and i like mingyu.” jihoon managed, the words sending pounding vibrations through his body. an earthquake, jihoon compared it to, and wonwoo seemed to realise it. “but i’m scared.”

“why?” 

“i know what seokmin said, but it’s not from mingyu. it’s not in his words, from his mouth, towards me. seokmin said it unprovoked, but he also may have been joking. there’s a lot of thoughts in my head, buzzing and humming. he messaged me an hour or so ago asking when we could meet up so he could make me dinner and honestly i don’t know what to say.”

“give him a time,” wonwoo said. “and go over to see him. and jihoon?”

“what?”

“writing words won’t fix it.” 

“how did you - oh fuck.” jihoon had been writing mindlessly in the air, only to now see they were actually manifested and were floating around him. 

“you know though, i am glad you’ve found someone.” wonwoo hummed. “it’s good for you to move on from a comfortable crush.”

“yeah,” jihoon sighed before realising he was talking to his old crush’s boyfriend. 

“you know, i knew you had a crush on soonyoung before.” wonwoo said like he was reading jihoon’s thoughts, making jihoon choke on air. 

“you didn’t say anything.”

“why would i have to?” wonwoo asked curiously. “you’re allowed to have a crush, and you never tried to steal soon from me. i never saw a need, and i still don’t need to. this isn’t middle school where one gets jealous over a crush.” jihoon’s mouth was wide open, and wonwoo just shrugged. “but - jihoon i hope you know this - i have seen the way you look at mingyu, and i have seen the way you looked at soonyoung.”

“and?” jihoon didn’t know why he was leaning forwards, why his breath was caught in his chest. 

“and you looked at soonyoung like he was the sun. you look at mingyu like he is the universe.”

that’s all it took for jihoon to take out his phone and text mingyu.

❁

from: mingyu  
to: jihoon  
you know this means you will see my face right?

that singular text was absolutely clawing at jihoon. he hadn’t thought of it, but now it was the only thing rolling through his mind. he was going to see mingyu’s face. he could actually see mingyu’s face.

why was he so excited over seeing a nose, forehead, lips, cheeks, and chin? 

jihoon shook it off, sighing as he threw on clothes. he knew why he was excited, but he wasn’t in the mood to concentrate on it in case something went wrong. mingyu had seen him in sweatpants and a sweatshirt that looked like it had been in a food fight. but jihoon put on a nicer shirt and jeans, just because, and didn’t do anything with his hair. 

he was going to be early by about thirty minutes, but that gave him just enough time to tell wonwoo if he died to check mingyu’s dorm room first, and wonwoo rolled his eyes, telling jihoon to just go.

so jihoon was making his way to the freshman honours dorms, getting in easily. but before he even knocked on the door, it swung open to reveal a grinning seokmin and minghao. 

“you’re early,” seokmin whispered before giving jihoon a thumbs up. minghao nodded too, before the two of them practically bolted. jihoon, noticing music was playing pretty loudly from the bathroom, figured mingyu was getting ready. so he settled on the single bed (which was minghao’s but not like he cared), took out his phone, and started to play a video game he’d downloaded a week ago. 

“hao,” mingyu’s voice began with the familiar tone as the door to the bathroom opened, jihoon’s eyes flickering up for a minute - and then staying there.

mingyu was striking. he was built like someone had dumped adonis into stardust and shook them together, all pretty angles and striking features. but that wasn’t what was making jihoon’s eyes widen. 

it was the blooms unfurling on his chest from his heart, ink stains in the form of flowers blooming across his naked torso and up his neck until his entire expanse of skin was covered in flowers all shades of red. 

“jihoon,” mingyu squeaked, and jihoon’s eyes met his. 

his brain wasn’t connected to anything to tell him to stop his words (something that was happening a lot with mingyu around, jihoon noticed) so he blurted out, “mingyu you’re beautiful.” 

the flowers darkened shades of red, and jihoon noticed the flowers on mingyu’s cheeks were roses, dark red roses. the other flowers he didn’t know, but all he wanted to do was hold mingyu in that moment, but considering mingyu was in nothing but joggers, it may not have been the best idea. 

“thanks,” mingyu managed, and jihoon could see him curling in on himself. 

“is this what you hide?” jihoon asked, and mingyu looked at him before nodding. 

“can i put on clothes before you, i don’t know, make me feel weird?”

“i mean yes you can, but how would i make you feel weird?” mingyu didn’t answer, instead finding a sweatshirt and throwing it on. he covered most of his flowers like that, but jihoon could see the ones blooming on his hands and the roses on his cheeks. mingyu was gorgeous. 

“aren’t you going to make fun of me?” mingyu asked. “my body turned red because of you. isn’t it a little funny?”

“i just said you were beautiful, how would that transform into me laughing at you? i mean i laughed at you when you dumped horchata on that girl’s head but she had it coming.” mingyu looked ready to bolt, but relaxed a little when he seemed to hear the truth in jihoon’s voice. “i thought you were beautiful with the mask on too.”

“you mentioned,” mingyu managed. “you know, this happens when i see you.”

“what does?” mingyu just tapped his cheeks, and jihoon smiled a little. “the roses?”

“they only bloom when i blush,” mingyu muttered. 

“so you blush when someone you asked to come over for dinner is early?”

“well,” mingyu hesitated before the flowers turned another shade redder. “well when the person you invited is your crush of three and a half years, yeah you blush.” 

jihoon’s jaw dropped, mingyu’s flowers turned a dangerous shade of purple, and jihoon locked eyes with mingyu as he tried to evade his gaze. “me?” jihoon asked, and mingyu nodded. “you like me?”

“was that not obvious?”

“no?”

“oh. i tried really hard to make it obvious.” mingyu looked like he was going to run away if jihoon moved, so he didn’t, instead watching the tall boy sit in the desk chair and spin. “well, um, dinner tonight will be french food. i figured we have a lot on campus but not french food, so i wanted to make some.” if you’re staying hung in the air unsaid, but jihoon could sense it.

“okay,” jihoon said easily. “i like french food.”

mingyu’s eyes widened almost comically, and his fingers stopped their absentminded dance on his thighs. “you’re not going to leave?”

“no? this is a date now.” 

“a date?” mingyu choked, and jihoon nodded. 

“both parties have an interest in the other. it kind of makes it a date, does it not?” mingyu’s mouth opened, closed, opened, closed, opened… and closed. finally, he managed to use his words.

“yeah, i guess.” mingyu’s voice squeaked, and jihoon found himself internally cooing at how flustered mingyu was visibly. this was a new thing, but the red roses on mingyu’s cheeks and tinier ones that had bloomed on his nose and down his neck just made jihoon fall a little more. 

“so what dishes? is there anything i can help with?”

“maybe? the dishes are soupe de poisson à la rouille, a salad, tartiflette, sole meunière, and a cherry buttermilk clafoutis.”

“i will pretend i know exactly what all that is.” jihoon said, nodding yes.

“well, that’s part of the surprise isn’t it?” mingyu’s eyes twinkled as his flowers faded a little, the roses now a dusty pink against his olive skin. “to answer the question though, i have my mise en place done from earlier, so the only thing i can think of you helping with is not distracting me.”

“and how do i distract you?”

“in every way.”

“so are you asking me to leave?” jihoon asked, pretending to be offended. 

“no! no, no - wait are you messing with me?” jihoon’s lazy grin gave him away, and mingyu pouted. “you’re an ass.”

“you just said you like me? i’m getting mixed vibes here.” 

“i have decided you are insufferably adorable,” mingyu declared dramatically, jihoon feeling a blotchy blush on his face. “especially with that blush on your face.” jihoon faintly registered that this was flirting, but it made his heart jump to his throat so he didn’t really mind it.

“you get rather confident with your mask off,” jihoon said as mingyu moved to the kitchen, and mingyu faltered for a second. “not that i don’t like it, i just think it’s cute.” jihoon rushed to reassure him. “i haven’t seen this side.”

“i really thought i would scare you away if i tried to openly flirt,” mingyu said from where his head was now buried in the fridge. “so i tried to be subtle.”

“you were so subtle i didn’t even know.” jihoon remarked, and he could practically feel mingyu’s grin before he turned around. actually seeing the expression instead of just mingyu’s eyes made small shockwaves go through his entire being, and mingyu’s chuckle that followed didn’t help. “seriously, i think i asked everyone i knew for help.”

“except joshua, he was helping me!”

“except - wait he was? what a snake.”

“hey! he helped me figure out how to ask you on this little date?” mingyu’s voice went up to make the last word a question mark, making jihoon nod yes.

“date, yes. what are you making now?”

“the tartiflette.” jihoon finally moved from the bed to jump onto the counter space that mingyu had left, noticing he was still not entirely eye level with him. why did mingyu have to be that tall?

“what even is that?”

“potatoes, bacon, cheese. it takes a bit to cook, which is why you being early isn’t the best thing.”

“how long?”

“about an hour.”

“more time with you then, right?” the roses bloomed back a dark pink on mingyu’s cheeks and nose, jihoon internally swooning at the sight. mingyu just had to be too cute for his own good, didn’t he? 

“yep,” mingyu managed, smiling softly. “but i will be cooking the entire time.”

“even better. you look good cooking.”

“you haven’t seen me cook.”

“you seem the type to look good doing everything.” jihoon swung his legs absently, watching with at least some interest as mingyu began to boil the potatoes. “what flowers bloom the most?”

“roses,” mingyu responded immediately. “but different flowers bloom when different people touch me, or something happens. like if it’s windy outside, dandelion seeds like to blow across my collarbones.” 

“that’s so cool,” jihoon hummed. “why do you hide it though? it’s one of the prettiest little magics i’ve seen.”

“when i was in third grade people made fun of me a lot because they could tell stuff from my flowers. and since it’s so visible, it makes me an easier target.”

“i am going to need names and addresses,” jihoon said, only point one percent joking. 

“Not needed, but thank you for your sentiments.” 

“i will smack them with a guitar.”

“don’t ruin your stuff.”

“it’s worth it,” jihoon muttered before realising mingyu’s eyes were locked in on him. “what?”

“what is your thing?” mingyu asked curiously, and jihoon tilted his head.

“my consequence?” jihoon asked, and mingyu nodded, looking at him with soft eyes. 

“you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“it’s a common one with wordsmiths. if someone writes something on your skin, you have the words carved into your bones in ink. too much of it, it causes ink poisoning.” jihoon said matter of factly.

“i’m sorry.”

“why? you didn’t do this to me. no need to apologise for something you didn’t cause.” mingyu nodded, but frowned a little still. “no need to pout either. you’ll crease your face.”

“i’m still going to be sad. won’t that hurt?”

“it does yes,” jihoon mused as mingyu began to work on a pastry. “but i have only had it once or twice. one was my mom who absently traced something on me when i was sick, and now it’s on my spine. and second was me myself writing on my arm with a homework assignment.”

“so you have a homework assignment on your bones permanently?” mingyu snorted, and jihoon frowned. 

“it sucks okay? but i don’t let people write on me.” 

“i just don’t let people touch me.” mingyu mused, then realised that was probably a valuable piece of information he should not have given jihoon, who was now looking up at mingyu with begging eyes. “it’s weird, and you might laugh at me, and i can’t control it.”

“do you really think i’d laugh at you?” jihoon asked softly, mingyu hesitating.

“no, i really don’t. people have though, and i don’t want you to think it’s weird.”

“i think you’re gorgeous mingyu.” jihoon said honestly, holding out his hand. even though mingyu’s hand was covered in pastry stuff, he immediately put his hand in jihoon’s. it was warm and a little calloused, jihoon smiling up at mingyu before looking down.

he watched as blue and purple flowers, ferns, and a white flower bloomed. “what does it mean?” jihoon asked, fascinated, and mingyu looked at him nervously. “you don’t have to tell me.”

“i mean, it will happen every single time you touch me, so you should probably know.” mingyu gently traced the flowers, tapping on them. “purple aster, love, faith, wisdom. blue salvias, i think of you. white clematis, mental beauty. ferns, magic, sincerity, humility. they bloom specific to your touch.” 

“only me?”

“i mean, yes. everyone has them when they touch me, but yours are the only one with crush related flowers.” jihoon flushed a little more, mingyu’s entire hand engulfing his as mingyu squeezed his hand before letting go to attend to his pastry. they sunk into a comfortable silence as mingyu cooked, jihoon watching with no absence of adoration in his eyes. 

he admired how mingyu’s flowers would change shades, how he would bite his lips when he concentrated, when he turned on music and began to hum with it, every song seeming to be one mingyu knew. jihoon lost it laughing when mingyu decided to be all the members of oh!gg in lil touch while dancing way too hard. he accidentally sent a half cup of cheese flying across the kitchen while doing so, making jihoon quite literally fall off the counter, so out of breath he couldn’t manage to get up without collapsing again.

mingyu eventually picked jihoon up off the floor, jihoon looking at him with wide eyes as mingyu chuckled at him. “you keep causing flowers to bloom,” mingyu smiled, and jihoon could see more flowers than roses creeping up mingyu’s neck. jihoon smiled at that before pressing a quick kiss to mingyu’s cheek. 

“make sure the food doesn’t burn mingyu.”

❁

jihoon hummed quietly, the song mingyu had been singing two nights ago stuck in his head. he would never admit it, but mingyu was by far, in his eyes, the best thing to ever step foot in the universe factory. even though he just happily sat on the couch and then at one point sang a red velvet song so loud jihoon had to take off his headphones, he still was the best thing. 

“hoonie!” a voice said, jihoon turning towards the sound out of pure instinct. 

“mingyu,” jihoon responded before registering something was different. “you’re not wearing a mask?”

“you said last tutoring session when i wanted a kiss on the cheek that you couldn’t with a mask on,” mingyu muttered shyly. “so, i’m not wearing one today to get my kisses.” roses were already on mingyu’s cheeks as he took a sip of his drink, obviously trying to hide his blush. even though they’d been on six dates so far, mingyu seemed to have permanent roses on his cheeks in varying shades of reds and purples. but this was the first time jihoon saw them in public, with mingyu looking so perfect, jihoon just smiled at him. “is there something on my face?”

“nope,” jihoon hummed. “now sit down so we can work on your essays okay?” jihoon waited for mingyu to sit down before linking their pinkies under the table for a brief second. mingyu immediately smiled wider, giggling a little. then they got to work on mingyu’s assignments, falling into ambiance.

“you know, i better get my kisses for not wearing my mask,” mingyu muttered, jihoon smiling up him. 

“gyu, we should finish this assignment first. your syntax is still off, you know.” 

“really?” mingyu leaned over, looking at the paper curiously. “i swear i fixed those.” 

“they’re on the next page.” jihoon said softly, trying not to get too nervous. this was okay right, for him to do this? maybe mingyu would get distracted by this - wait shit, he had to turn this in didn’t he?

“will you be my boyfriend?” mingyu said out loud, before frowning. “that wasn’t part of the prompt. did i write that when i was half asleep?”

sometimes jihoon really wished mingyu’s braincells didn’t die after every single test.

“i mean, since you asked, yes, i will be your boyfriend,” jihoon said, mingyu’s eyes widening when he realised what he’d just said and gasping. 

“i had a whole thing planned!” mingyu groaned. “but you beat me to it.”

“that i did,” jihoon smiled, pressing a kiss to mingyu’s cheek for a second. deciding that wasn’t enough, jihoon pressed his lips to mingyu’s for a split second, just long enough to remember mingyu was in fact a hurricane to jihoon, then smiled at the expression on mingyu’s face. it was a mixture of shock and excitement, like he didn’t believe jihoon would even dare to press his lips onto his own.

“you’re pretty cute boyfriend,” mingyu muttered, trying to fight back the blooms of red all over his neck and face. 

“i know,” jihoon responded, making mingyu laugh. “mingyu?”

“yes?”

jihoon didn’t know what he wanted to say. did he want to say mingyu was a hurricane, tearing through his life to rip everything to shreds before jihoon put them back together to realise it was the most enchanting artwork he’d ever seen? did he want to tell mingyu how he’d gone to everyone for help to find out his feelings (again) just so he knew he wouldn’t mess up? what about the way mingyu’s eyes caught the light, with or without a mask, or the way his body gave away his thoughts. 

maybe he wanted to say that while he wasn’t in love yet, he was going to be. he knew he was going to be in love with mingyu, a train with no breaks, a hurricane with no end, a loving, loveable mess of a person. 

instead of saying any of that though, jihoon just looked up and smiled at mingyu. “i’m so lucky to have you in my life, kim mingyu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this! This is the first part of a many-story collection that I am so excited about - if you like it, please consider leaving kudos or a comment!
> 
> If you just want to scream at me, my Instagram is @roses_for_jeonghan

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked it please consider leaving a kudo or a comment!
> 
> If you want to scream at me please do it on Instagram @ roses_for_jeonghan !


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